Will Pipes Freeze in Griggs County, ND? 120 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Griggs County
In a normal year Griggs County, ND gets 120 nights at or below 20°F, the point where bare pipes in a garage, attic or outside wall start to freeze. That is more than 98% of US counties.
Risk level: Severe. The risk season runs October to April, worst in January.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 187 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 120 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 78 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 49 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 120 nights of risk to 78 nights. A 12 ft heat-tape kit runs $17 to $37; an average burst-pipe repair is about $500.
Month by month
Nights at or below 20°F in a normal year.
First 32°F night is usually around 09/23, last around 05/17. For 20°F: 10/21 to 04/15.
How cold Griggs County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 1°F; the coldest month, January, averages -2°F overnight. 9 months normally bring at least one night below 32°F (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec). Nights below 10°F, cold enough to freeze insulated pipe in an unheated space, come in January, February, March, April, November, December: 78 nights a year, and 49 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -2°F | 1°F | 15°F | 29°F | 42°F | 53°F | 57°F | 54°F | 45°F | 32°F | 17°F | 4°F |
Griggs County next to its neighbours
Nelson County, ND, 51 km north, gets 126 nights below 20°F to Griggs County's 120 nights. Steele County, ND, 39 km east, gets 119 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Griggs County, ND | - | 187 nights | 120 nights | -2°F |
| Steele County, ND | 39 km east | 187 nights | 119 nights | -4°F |
| Foster County, ND | 48 km west | 189 nights | 119 nights | -1°F |
| Nelson County, ND | 51 km north | 191 nights | 126 nights | -4°F |
| Eddy County, ND | 58 km northwest | 189 nights | 119 nights | -1°F |
| Barnes County, ND | 58 km south | 191 nights | 121 nights | -2°F |
| Stutsman County, ND | 77 km southwest | 182 nights | 111 nights | 1°F |
Griggs County within ND
Griggs County ranks 17 of 53 ND counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Rolette County, ND at 137 nights, with a -3°F average winter low. The fewest is Slope County, ND: 100 nights, winter lows near 10°F. At 1,461 ft, Griggs County sits 273 ft below the state's median county elevation of 1,733 ft.
What to do here
- Treat it as a building fix, not a night-of routine: insulate, heat tape, seal crawlspace vents.
- An automatic leak shutoff pays for itself if one burst is avoided.
- Know where the main shutoff is before the first hard freeze.
The dates to be done by: when freeze season starts and ends.
Where this comes from
NOAA 1991-2020 climate normals, blended from 3 nearby stations and adjusted for elevation; closest is Cooperstown, ND, 16 km away (close match). A normal year, not tonight's forecast: check the forecast low for the night itself. How a county figure is built from stations: how the numbers are made.